Getting Started with D&D in a School Library

What you need to get started:

Players: If you are brand new to being a Dungeon Master (DM), I suggest starting small, between 3 or 6 players. This will seem very small for a school library programme. However, the game will grow with popularity and you will be able to recruit other DMs to help you expand it.
Dice: There are 7 different dice needed to play D&D. You can find more info on the dice here.
Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook. This is the one item I'd strongly recommend paying for. More details on it can be found here.
Character Sheets: These can be found in the back of the Player's Handbook or they can be downloaded from the D&D web site here.
Space: Tables and chairs for six to eight people.
Pencils, scrap paper, snacks are always a big hit!
I also suggest the D&D Starter Set which contains The Lost Mines of Phandelver. It has a built-in adventure, condensed rule book and pre-made character sheets! You can find out more here.

Session Zero

What is a Session Zero and what happens in one?

Session Zero is a meeting you have with your players before you actually play D&D. It's an important session because it's a way for you to introduce yourselves and set some expectations (see 'Table Rules' in the section below).
In a Session Zero I also:
- Ask our students if they've ever played D&D before or any other tabletop roleplaying game and if so, ask them to discuss their favourites.
- Ask our students what they hope to get from the game or if they have any questions about the game itself.
- Help them create characters (see the 'Resourece Section' below for more info on Character Creation).
- Establish Safety Tools (See the Safety Tools Section Below).
- Tell them what kind of campaign / games we'll be playing: Will it be set in the jungle or the freezing north? Or will we be doing a series of one-shots (adventures that can usually be completed in a relatively short time).
- How long will the programme run? How many people will it involve? How often do you hope to meet?
- Establish how their characters will level up: Will you give them experience points as written in the book(s) or will you advance their level based on how many quests they accomplish (which is also called Milestones)?

Table Rules

It's important to remember that this list is what works for me. You should create rules that work best for you and your students. These are things I establish in a Session Zero (see above) and occassionaly remind them of throughout the year.

No Player versus Player (PvP): I remind students that D&D is a teammworking environment, and, unless the story calls for it (for example, someone is cursed or goes mad), they will not attack each other. This will always result in hurt feelings.
Be Respectful: This means not talking over other people, listening to what is happening in the game and helping your fellow companions. It also means waiting for your turn before you shoot that spell or swing that battleaxe!
Take Turns: This is a big part of starting out with D&D and with younger players it can be a challenge. In my experience, I've found that having new players take turns going clockwise around the table, even out of combat, can be a lifesaver.
No Mobile Phones: Our school has a no mobile phone policy so this is not an issue. However, if your school does allow phones it is my opinion that these only act as a distraction. They can slow your game down considerably and create tension if one player thinks another player isn't paying attention.
Food: We do allow food at our table but again, this might be something to consider if you do not want food and snacks, especially liquids, in the library or classroom.
Listen to your DM: Your Dungeon Master is not there to kill you, they are there to cheer you on while giving you a world full of challenges and obstacles to overcome. This is something I try to get across right away, the fact that my goal is not to thwart them but to make it fun, but at the same time, the DM is in charge and their say counts as the final word.

Tips for the First Time Dungeon Master

Don't say "No": If it's not hurtful to others, a Dungeon Master should always let players try fun, weird and bizarre things. It will make the game more memorable.
Make sure everyone is feeling safe: I have a whole section below on Safety Tools which every first time DM should check out. You have a lot of control as a Dungeon Master and therefore a lot of responsibility. It's important that your players feel comfortable so any topic that makes squirm should really be avoided. You can go over this in a Session Zero (see below).
The players are not your opponents: You are just as much a player as the others. You are not there to kill the players. Your job is to present them with challenges and to cheer them on. Ultimately, you are telling a story for them to get lost in.
Don't over-prepare: The idea is to have a framework of what you want to present to your characters and let them build the story around it. A great D&D session happens when players destroy your well-laid out plans.
Ask your players beforehand what they want to get out of the game: This should happen in a Session Zero (see above). You will discover that some players like more combat than roleplaying, some enjoy exploring and some want a mixture. Find out what they like and go from there.
Don't reinvent the wheel: There is a goldmine of material out there (See Resources below) for you to use. You don't have to create an entire universe from scratch. Use what's out there to start, and if you want to build your own world, start small.
You don't need to memorise the rules. This is what the Player's Handbook is for, have it handy. Buy a DM screen and take a look at the inside, it's full of quick-reference items that will be a life saver. The game is meant to be loose and fun, you don't need to be a rules lawyer.
Take notes: This will save your life. I personally love taking notes but if you don't like it, use bullet points just to get the basics down. What do I mean by this? During a session, mark down what has happened, what time of day it is, what treasure the group finds, anything important.
Create a list of NPCs: Make a list of names, any names you want, you can find a million of them here. I make a bank of them before each session. By doing this, you won't get caught out when a player says the dreaded, "What's your name again?"
You don't need to be a professional voice actor: I enjoy doing voices but I only have a few I can do: "Grizzled war veteran" and "Guy I grew up with in Canada." However, some people aren't comfortable doing voices and that's ok. Even changing your body language a little bit can tell players that they are speaking to someone different.
You can make changes: There's nothing wrong in saying "Sorry, I messed up, I need to change what just happened." Now, depending on the situation, this might not be an issue. However if it's life changing for a player in a negative way, it's probably a good thing to let it slide. However, if you're honest and open with your players and admit mistakes, it will make the game much more enjoyable for everyone. It's a vast game, mistakes will happen, you can change things if you want to. The rules are really only guidelines.

Safety Tools

What are safety tools? In D&D, safety tools are simple ways to make sure everyone is having fun, feeling included and feeling safe. They are a very important part of any D&D session, especially when you're working with youth. In a school setting, it goes without saying that you shouldn't have certain themes in your D&D games (no alcohol, for example) but there are things that you might not catch that could have an impact on your players.

Some examples of Safety Tools:

The X Card: A small card with an X on it. If you are covering something that a player finds uncomfortable, they can tap the card to let you know. You can find X cards here.
Pause: The player can simply ask the DM to pause the game. For example, the DM is describing a cave full of centipedes, the player says "Pause: Could they be something else? I am very uncomfortable with centipedes crawling over me."
Leaving the table: My players all know they can get up and leave the table if they need a break or need to simply stretch their legs. The other players are made aware that if anyone wants to leave, we will simply catch them up when they return.

There are tons of different approaches you can take with Safety Tools. The important thing is to ensure your players are having fun and feeling safe and that their voice is heard. It's very important that you talk to your players to ensure no one is feeling left out, upset or angry at what is happening at your table. My advice is to check out all of the tools here and use the ones that are right for your table.

Let's Play!

In this section, I'll provide links to step-by-step scenarios you can use to get started. Before you start, there are a few things to consider:

How long will your sessions be? In a school library, time is against you. A "normal" D&D session can be anywhere from three to six hours long which is not reasonable in a school library setting. Our sessions are 50 minutes each as we run them at lunchtime. If you feel that you need more time, running them after school will be the best option. Having a session at even 30 minutes will be tough in my opinion. You will find time passes extremely fast when playing D&D!
How often will you meet? We meet twice a week, but our other groups meet almost every day of the week at various times.
Who will be the DM? You should prepare for the fact that you might have to be the DM at the beginning. It will be a lot of fun but a lot of work! My advice is to tell everyone in your school about the club, you will find a lot of teachers, TA's and other members of staff who enjoy the game and will want to be involved.
Note Taking: I strongly recommend writing a little recap of your session and sending it to your players. I love doing this and I know that most of our players really enjoy reading them.
I recommend running a longer session on a Saturday! I wrote all about how awesome this is here.
Ready to Go Games:
- I wrote this 45 minute, step by step D&D adventure for DMs who have never played before. You can download it here.
- Grammy's Country Apple Pie is a fun, fast paced D&D adventure that is easy to run, you can download it here.
- Wild Sheep Chase: Another fun, easy to run adventure that can be completed in a relatively short period of time, download it here.

Mental Health Benefits

My interview with Dr. Megan Connell on the therpeutic benefits of D&D, list here!

My interview with Mental Health Counsellor Katie Lear on the benefits of D&D!

My interview with Colleen Madrigale, a social worker who uses D&D as therapy, listen here!

My interview with mental health clinician David Lindskoog on the mental health benefits of D&D, listen here!

My interview with Dr. Elizabeth Kilmer on the therapeutic benefits of D&D!

A Screen Rant article featuring my work with D&D and how it can been applied to real life.

A article in Spectrum Magazine on how D&D can help autistic players, read it here!

An article in BookTrust on the mental health benefits of playing D&D!

My reflections on being an autistic Dungeon Master for School Library Journal

Resources

There are loads of great resources out there, here's a list!

D&D for Beginners Video (35 mins long) that I recorded in Sept 2024!
DM Guild: For great adventures, some free, some at a very low cost.
Drive Thru RPG: Another great shopping site for amazing adventures.
Let's Roll: Shameless self promotion - my book covers everything I've discussed here and more!
Premade Character Sheets: Click the link and go to "Additional Ready to Play Character Sheets" and you will find characters all ready to go!
Roll20: A free online system to run tabletop roleplaying games. There is a bit of a learning curve, but if you decide to run D&D online, this is the best place to start in my opinion.
Online DMs Screen: A simple online poster that will explain a lot of rules both in and out of combat.
Spell Slots Explained. I made this downloadable, dyslexia-friendly sheet to explain spells in D&D.
Quick Guide to Combat: This is a fast guide to combat that I created.
Sly Flourish: Sly is an amazing DM and his site is absolutely full of great advice for the new player and DM.
Running D&D for large groups.
You Should Have Been a Meat Shield: A D&D Podcast where you can learn how to play!

Contact

The best way to contact me is via X: @lucasjmaxwell

All other ways to contact me can be found via my Linktree, which is here.

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